Strange how the mind works. I have been really upset by this. Partially I suspect because my father died of cancer in February and the loss is still fresh.

Last night I dreamt I had a drink of whisky to toast Iain Banks' passing. I haven't had an alcoholic drink pass my lips for some ten years now. The sensation was so vivid that I awoke. Lying there in bed I could taste the whisky on my lips. A Macallan. A very very strange sensation for someone who fully intends never to touch the stuff again.

I'm a little sad that the Beeb managed to leave IMB off this slideshow commemorating various famous figures to pass in 2013. It says "a more extensive look at UK lives lost" will appear tomorrow, but given that they found space for Chris Mac Daddy Kelly (of Kris Kross "fame") and The Fast and the Furious's Paul Walker...